COMMERCIAL POINT, OH — The results of the Commercial Point Village Council election remain unofficial as election officials work to verify a record number of write-in votes.
A total of 1,900 votes were cast for candidates running for Council, only 595 of them were for the only person on the ballot, Dustyn Fox; the rest, a total of 853, were write-in ballots. Now it will take time to look at each one of those and assign a vote to each candidate.
Of the four open council seats, only one candidate, Dustyn Fox, appeared on the ballot. The remaining nine candidates ran write-in campaigns, asking residents to “put pen to paper” to cast their votes. Because of this, the Pickaway County Board of Elections must carefully review and validate the ballots before final results can be announced. Im sure there are write-ins for even other candidates, including possibly Bugs Bunny, Trump, maybe even Wag the Dog. Those votes, though, won’t count, but they could be part of that large number of write-ins.
The Board of Elections told Sciotopost, “It will take time to make sure it’s done correctly, and keep watching the website for updates.”
Ohio law requires that write-in votes can only be counted for candidates who have filed a declaration of intent with the Board of Elections. These declarations must be submitted well in advance of the election to ensure eligibility. The law also allows for protests if voters believe a candidate has not met the legal requirements.
This election highlights the growing trend of grassroots campaigns in small communities. Counting write-in votes requires additional verification to ensure every valid vote is counted.
Residents can expect updates from the Board of Elections as they confirm which write-in candidates meet all legal requirements and tally the results for the four council seats.
